New Year, same old nonsense. My social media feeds are now overflowing with friends and family making ‘resolutions’ they’ll forget in a fortnight. Losing weight’s a popular one, as well as getting a new job. Some are wholesome and lovely, like my friends who vow to take up a new hobby, or give their kids more attention, or listen to their loved ones more often.
Most, however, are downright attention seeking, and I cannot stand them. However, I was surprised that I haven’t noticed many book themed resolutions this year or, now I actually think about, ever.
One of my friends at work is doing one, which is what made me actively think about. She’s doing a book a week challenge, and although she’s so far a little behind, she’s doing all right on it. It’s a pretty cool idea really; she’d been buying a lot of books and not reading them, so decided that reading a book every week was a good way to finally get round to them and have some fun at the same time.
This sort of thing seems like a great idea, as reading is a pastime often forgotten in today’s technological era, where many are engrossed in TV, films and games. Personally, owing to my blog and the fact that I have so many books if I didn’t read them and then give them to the charity shop I would be overrun, already read around a book every week, but this is a great way to encourage others to read more.
Another great New Years Resolution idea that isn’t complete cobblers is to read more widely, which is my own personal resolution. Traditionally, as a crime fiction and thriller fan I usually end up reading books by cisgender, straight white guys. Whilst there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, widening your reading is great for broadening your horizons. I do read some postcolonial fiction as a hangover from my university days, when that was my favourite module, but that’s not enough, so this year, alongside my usual reads by my favourite authors, I will be branching out, both in terms of writers and their books themselves. I don’t read a lot of non-fiction, so it’ll be great to find some memoirs, biographies and discussion books to expand my knowledge.
Don’t worry though- The Dorset Book Detective will still be a crime fiction and thriller focused blog! I’m lucky enough to work with loads of great authors and publicists who are always helping me discover great new talent in the genre, and for my own personal reading I was lucky enough to receive Michelle Obama’s autobiography Becoming for Christmas, so that will keep me going alongside Sophie Mackintosh’s The Water Cure.
So, if you’re still on the fence about making a New Years Resolution, why not make it book based? From a book a week, two weeks or month challenge through to broadening your horizons, reading everything by a particular author or revisiting old favourites, there are lots to choose from and they don’t involve buying expensive, funny smelling diet tea or going through gruelling exercise based challenges, which is always a bonus!
The Dorset Book Detective 